Return From Exile Series

April 15, 2023

Today we are combining the books of Ezra and Nehemiah into 1 story – Return from Exile

The 70 years were up. It was now time for God to act. He moved the heart of Cyrus, king of Persia, to allow the Jews to return home.

The Exiles returned to Judea in 3 separate waves over a period of 93 years:

• 537 BC - 1st wave led by “Sheshbazzar” {Zerubbabel} and “Jeshua” {Joshua} – {2 Chronicles 36:22-23 and Ezra 1:1-4}.

• 457 BC – 2nd wave is led by Ezra – {Ezra 7:6-9}.

• 444 BC – Nehemiah was a part of the 3rd wave – {Neh. 2:1-10}.

Wave 1 – 537 BC – led by Zerubbabel and Joshua

These 2 leaders were called upon to be the political and religious leaders of the first wave of returning exiles - {49,897}.

Together, they were tasked with the monumental responsibility of rebuilding the Temple and restoring the sacrificial system.

In the 7th month of the 1st year, the Jews gathered in Jerusalem. Despite fearing the people that surrounded them, they rebuilt the altar of burnt offering and offered morning and evening sacrifices to Yahweh.

In the 2nd month of the 2nd year, builders laid the foundation of the temple. The crowd shouted for joy, but some who had seen and remembered Solomon’s Temple, wept. The Levites led the congregation in praise and thanksgiving to Yahweh saying, “For He is good and His love to Israel endures forever."

At this time the other people groups living in the region approached Zerubbabel with an offer:

• Ezra 4:2 - Let us build with you. Like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him from the days of Esarhaddon the king of Assyria who brought us up here.

These were the descendants of the co-mingling between the remnant of Israel and the nations who were resettled in the land by Assyria after 722 BC.

Zerubbabel and Joshua, said, “No thanks”.

This was the beginning of the animosity between the Jews and this group - later known as the Samaritans.

After being rejected, the locals did everything in their power to discourage, harass and otherwise prevent the Jews from rebuilding the Temple and for a period of 14 years construction stopped. Haggai and Zechariah arrived and with their help and encouragement, construction began again and the Temple was completed in 515 BC.

Even though the Temple had been rebuilt and worship restored, the people were not living in obedience to the Law. The political and religious leadership in Judea were corrupt and the walls of Jerusalem remained in ruins.

After the Temple was rebuilt 58 years went by…..

During the reign of Artaxerxes I (465-425 BC) the opposition made an unsubstantiated charge of rebellion against the Jews. They did so hoping to prevent the walls of Jerusalem being rebuilt. They were successful. Artaxerxes ordered construction on the wall to stop and a military force was sent from Samaria to Jerusalem to enforce the decree.

Wave 2 – 457 BC – led by Ezra

Enter Ezra: Scribe / Priest / Student / Teacher. His knowledge OF and passion FOR scripture was an invaluable resource and he was tasked with bringing the people back into a knowledge of the Law of God and a relationship with Him {Ezra 7:10}.

Ezra requested to be allowed to go to Judea and Artaxerxes said yes and gave him a huge sum of money --- 650 talents of Silver, 100 talents of Silver Articles, 100 talents of Gold, 20 gold bowels and 2 polished bronze bowls --- to be used upon his arrival at Jerusalem {Ezra 7:12-26}.

12 families – 1560 men {5-6 thousand total} joined him.

The journey of nearly 1000 miles, took 4 months. Ezra chose to trust God and did not ask for a military escort. Upon arrival at Jerusalem he declared, “The hand of our God was on us, and he protected us from enemies and bandits along the way. …. Everything was accounted for by number and weight, and the entire weight was recorded at that time…. They also delivered the king's orders to the royal satraps and to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, who then gave assistance to the people and to the house of God.” {Ezra 8:22-36}

Some time went by………… Ezra was told of a serious problem: Some of the men of Israel, including the leadership, had married women from the surrounding nations. As a matter of fact, the leaders and rulers, “lead the way in this unfaithfulness.” {Ezra 9:1-2}

Ezra was so distraught that he fell to the ground, tore his clothes and pulled out his own hair – there he remained until time for the evening sacrifice then he prayed:

• Ezra 9:6-15 - O my God, I am too ashamed to lift up my face to you, because our guilt has reached to the heavens. Because of our sins, we have been subjected to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation at the hand of foreign kings. Lord, You have been gracious in leaving us a remnant. You have not deserted us, instead You have shown us kindness in the sight of the king of Persia. He allowed us to rebuild Your house and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem. Lord, what can we say? We have disregarded the commands You gave us long ago regarding the surrounding nations. Our situation is the result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, Lord, You have punished us less than we deserve. We have once again broken Your command and intermarried with the people of the land. I imagine You are angry enough with us to destroy us completely! Lord God, You are righteous! We are guilty and not one of us can stand in Your presence.